I haven’t posted any thing about our October boat trip – there was really far too much and so I didn’t get round to posting anything but while I was thinking about food for my last blog post I thought I’d post some of our foodie pics from our trip.

A stack of pancakes with home-made apple jelly and topped with the squirty cream we’d bought to top off our warming hot chocolates.

Rebekah made scones – they were lovely – only missing the clotted cream.

On the evening it rained we decided to treat ourselves to a Chinese takeaway, we very rarely get a take away so this was a big treat for us. They delivered from the nearby village to the local boat yard – but it was raining so hard I got soaked even collecting it from this point about 3 mins walk away. it was worth it though.

There was some fantastic food that we are that was so good we didn’t even manage to take photos of it and that was teh wonderful tarts and pasties from the wonderful little deli in Horning. It was so good that I am thinking about taking a 100 mile detour to go back to it when we head up to Lincoln next year. So if you are in Norfolk do go to Horning and visit the wonderful deli there.

The last day on the boat arrived and we had to set off early – we realised we had forgotten to eat the jelly that I had made the day before so we had jelly and sugar puff for breakfast!

It’s been a busy year thus far. Fortunately we booked ourselves a holiday in May. I had the bright idea of hiring a boat for the week. The family thought I was bonkers, as the last time we tried this we sunk he boat (I use the term “we” slightly loosely, but moving on…) but it was very cheap, and I rather liked the idea of a slow holiday. I have to say, I have many madcap ideas, but this was one of my better ones. Aside from breaking down on the way there it was an almost perfect holiday, one of the most relaxed weeks I have ever had. We travelled very little distance, and only visited a handful of places. We did everything reeeaaalyy slowwwlyy. We had a fantastic time just enjoying the places we passed through, watching the ducks, visiting bird hides, eating frequently, playing cards and just being still.

We spent a night on Percy’s Island. We thought it was quite apt that we should find an Island, though it was rather smaller than the Isle of Wight, being about 30 metres long and 3 metres wide. We were only here because the Moorings at Horning were all full. It was a strange feeling of isolation – once darkness fell we couldn’t leave – yet we were able to see and here the village of Horning. Our location afforded a beautiful sunset and dusk view, along with that smug feeling of an exclusive location.

Key to the success of the holiday was that we failed to sink the boat. In fact we managed to achieve a state of some averageness in mooring the boat, with one or two attempts almost being good. I was entrusted with most of the “driving” though we did discover that if someone else

had to take over, Jonathan (age eight) would be the logical choice. He had a natural flair for it, the ability to make small course corrections and trust that they would take effect in time. A steady course requires a certain patience, and a faith that in time your small actions will pay off. I feel there may be a moral in there somewhere….

So, if you want a low cost, low stress, low pace holiday, we highly recommend a boat on the broads. We booked direct with Richardson’s and booked their cheapest boat we could (just) fit in. A week in May cost around £300 which is probably no more than hiring a caravan. In fact, we liked it so much we are going back in October.

On our recent holiday to the Broads we arrived at the boatyard two hours early, so thought we would pootle off somewhere for a couple of hours, have some lunch and then return. We ended up at the Hickling Broad Nature reserve where we bought some books but decided against going in as it was a bit pricey for all of us for just a fleeting visit. So we jumped back in the car, only to find it wouldn’t start. After numerous attempts we phoned the breakdown company (we always have breakdown cover, over the years we must have saved a fortune!) and Susan took the kids into the reserve while I waited.

As we were in the middle of nowhere it took a while for help to reach us, and when it did the news was not good. The car would need recovering. Fortunately the firm that had come out went out of their way to help. They towed us back to the boatyard, helped us unload our stuff and carry it to the boat (def. above and beyond the call of duty) and then recovered the car back to their garage for repair, promising to phone us as soon as they had investigated the exact nature of the fault.

Now, when a garage says they will call me back I don’t hold my breath. I made a mental note to call them after a couple of days had passed. Much to my surprise I had a voicemail the next day, and on phoning back I had the diagnosis explained, the cost set out in detail, and was asked if I wanted to go ahead. I agreed and they advised they had already ordered the part to avoid delay and it should be with them in a couple of days. The next day I had another call to say the work was complete and that I should ring them when back at the boat yard. At the end of our week I did this (mid morning on a Sunday) and they promptly delivered the car back to the yard – and at no extra cost. Oh, and they had washed the car too – which is more than I ever do!

I have used many garages in my time, some good, some bad. All I can say is they service from Aitchison Vehicle Logistics was exemplary. Absolutely top draw. So, if you ever break down in Norfolk, give Aitchison a call on 01493 700222. I would like to their website but I can’t find one.

Here is the first of a few holiday posts – very delayed but we’ve been too busy since we’ve got back to update the blog.

We went to the fabulous Bewilderwood in the middle of our week away on the Broads. It was absolutely fantastic, a giant adventure playground with zipwires, slides swings and climbing frames that we could all go on, as well as the odd Crocklebog and Boggle.

We had some difficulty getting moored at Horning but eventually got a space and walked the half a mile to Bewilderwood.

Martin, Rebekah and Ruth on the boat through to the start of bewilderwood, they were on the wrong side to get squirted by the crocobog, Mildred.

The three person swings were my absolute favourite thing of the whole day – I loved swinging high in the air on these huge swings – the kids clearly loved them too.

Rebekah struggled to get through the small tunnels in this part of the wood.

But this was the one part that Jonathan could complete quicker than anyone else, he was just the right size for squeezing through the tunnels and here he is waiting fot the girls to finally catch up with him.

This is our second go on the boat and they are all anticipating Mildred this time!

Now the girls have really had enough of the small tunnels and have left Jonathan to it.

Martin very carefully balancing on the beam.

And Rebekah hugging a pole.

We loved it and if we manage to go back to the broads we’ll definitely be returning to Bewilderwood.